Ocean Blue (Sea Lab Book 1)

CHAPTER 53

ZANDERTHAL'S REMOTE COMPOUND

Jake didn't feel comfortable putting Sarah's life in anyone's hands but his own, even if they were former SEALs. He rubbed his eyes and wiped jittery hands over his face to breathe life back into his weary body. It didn't work, but the churning in his stomach intensified. He wished Tony wasn't lying prostrate beside him. Not that he didn't need help, he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. He had to contemplate this with as little conversation as possible. Regardless, fear of losing Sarah forever kept him going, plowing ahead every second he was without her. Even though it was nearly five in the morning, sleep and solitude would have to come later.

After dropping Cat off at the Darling Harbour Quay where the captain docked the Atlantis, Jake and Tony changed into blue jeans and thin athletic T-shirts and returned to the mountain top lookout for a thorough inspection of Zanderthal's secret hideaway. By taking advantage of the BMW's V8 engine, Jake shaved about ten minutes off the trip to the Blue Mountains. Tony grew quiet when he saw the sprawling fenced in complex with an arena at its core. He commented it looked like a giant beehive surrounded by satellite nests.

At the moment, the hive was inactive except for a few security guards. Jake monitored their movements below with the naked eye. Two guards manned the front gate. One patrolled the east fence. They had another stationed on the west boundary, and who knew how many at the rear of the facility?

Tony dropped the binoculars from his eyes. "The sun will be up soon. All's quiet on the range."

"Would you stop it with the metaphors," Jake said.

"It's just a figure of speech, bro."

"It's time to be sober-minded, not cute."

"I wasn't being—"

"Just cut it out." Jake took the binoculars from Tony and raised them for a look, adjusting the focus on the main gate, in particular the guard shack. A lamp on a desk lit the interior of the tiny structure. One man had his attention on a computer screen while the other leaned against the small building's exterior, possibly complacent with the non-eventful evening.

Headlights broke the darkness, and the rumble of a diesel engine rolled across the valley floor.

"A truck's approaching the entrance. Check that." Jake hesitated. "We've got three eighteen wheelers in route, not the tanker variety either. Each truck has an enclosed trailer."

The guards allowed all three tractor trailers passage. The first truck backed up in front of the central facility to a garage door.

After several minutes, the second semi backed into place while the first parked off to the side. Whatever their activity, the drivers planned to leave at the same time. That meant they were on-loading instead of having their contents removed.

Twenty minutes passed, then the third rig maneuvered its trailer into position. As it kissed the dock, headlights illuminated the main gate. Jake brought the binoculars to bear on the vehicle as it waited to enter. A Mercedes-Benz limousine.

"Bingo," he said.

Tony took the binoculars for a brief look and then passed them back to Jake.

"I think―"

Jake was in mid-sentence when the driver's side door of the limo opened and out stepped Takeshi Ishikawa's bear-like figure. The man walked up to a guard and took a clipboard from him. It appeared he was scouring over a shipping manifest when the last truck pulled away from the dock and got in line behind the other diesels. Within a few minutes, a trio of black SUVs squeezed between each truck, including one at the head of the convoy. At a brisk pace, Ishikawa returned to the limo and climbed in. He eased the car to the back of the line and waited for the procession to move.